97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB4084

 

Introduced , by Rep. Naomi D. Jakobsson

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/2-3.71e new
105 ILCS 5/3-11  from Ch. 122, par. 3-11

    Amends the School Code. Requires the State Board of Education to establish a pilot project to provide early screening and intervention services for children with risk factors for dyslexia, subject to appropriation. Requires the State Superintendent of Education to select 3 school districts to participate in the pilot project. Sets forth provisions concerning district qualifications and requirements, the duration and goal of the pilot project, consultation, reporting, and rules. Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, allows teachers institutes to include instruction on the indicators of dyslexia, which instruction must be provided by a dyslexia specialist. Effective immediately.


LRB097 18037 NHT 63260 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4084LRB097 18037 NHT 63260 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section
52-3.71e and by changing Section 3-11 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.71e new)
7    Sec. 2-3.71e. Dyslexia pilot project.
8    (a) In this Section:
9    "Dyslexia" means a specific learning disorder that is
10neurological in origin and that is characterized by unexpected
11difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and by
12poor spelling and decoding abilities not consistent with the
13person's intelligence, motivation, and sensory capabilities,
14which difficulties typically result from a deficit in the
15phonological component of language.
16    "Pilot project" means the pilot project established under
17subsection (b) of this Section.
18    (b) The State Board of Education shall establish a pilot
19project to provide early screening and intervention services
20for children with risk factors for dyslexia, including low
21phonemic awareness. The State Superintendent of Education
22shall select 3 school districts to participate in the pilot
23project, one of which must be located in an urban setting, one

 

 

HB4084- 2 -LRB097 18037 NHT 63260 b

1of which must be located in a suburban setting, and one of
2which must be located in a rural setting. Each of these
3districts must have an early childhood program already in
4place.
5    To be considered for the pilot project, a school district
6shall submit a proposal to the State Board of Education that
7identifies a method of screening children for low phonemic
8awareness and other risk factors for dyslexia, provides for the
9enrollment of children identified as having risk factors for
10dyslexia in a reading program staffed by teachers trained in
11multisensory structured language programs, and includes a
12methodology for evaluating the effects of the reading program
13on the children's identified risk factors.
14    The pilot project shall operate for 3 full school years,
15beginning with the school year that begins at least 3 months
16after the effective date of this Section.
17    (c) The establishment and operation of the pilot project is
18subject to appropriation.
19    (d) The goal of the pilot project is to demonstrate and
20evaluate the effectiveness of early reading assistance
21programs for children with risk factors for dyslexia and to
22evaluate whether those programs can reduce future special
23education costs.
24    (e) The State Superintendent of Education shall consult
25with an organization that specializes in multisensory
26structured language programs for the treatment of dyslexia in

 

 

HB4084- 3 -LRB097 18037 NHT 63260 b

1establishing and operating the pilot project.
2    (f) Under the pilot project, each participating school
3district, through early childhood reading instruction and
4reading assistance programs, shall screen children 6 years of
5age or younger for indications of dyslexia, provide appropriate
6reading intervention services for those children suspected of
7having dyslexia, and administer assessments, approved by the
8State Superintendent of Education, to ascertain whether the
9intervention services improve those students' reading and
10learning. If a child is suspected of having dyslexia, the
11district shall notify the child's parent or guardian of that
12fact and that the child, as part of the pilot project, is
13eligible to receive reading intervention services to measure
14the effectiveness of early reading assistance programs. The
15district shall require the parent or guardian to indicate in
16writing that the parent or guardian voluntarily and knowingly
17consents to the child's participation in the pilot project for
18the provision of reading intervention services. Each district
19shall provide to the parents or guardians of children suspected
20of having dyslexia information about the learning disability,
21recommended multisensory treatments, and possible services
22under this Code.
23    (g) Each participating school district shall report
24annually to the State Board of Education data about the
25operation and results of the pilot project, as required by the
26State Board in the manner prescribed by the State Board.

 

 

HB4084- 4 -LRB097 18037 NHT 63260 b

1    (h) Not later than the 31st day of December of the third
2school year in which the pilot project is operating, the State
3Board of Education shall submit a report to the General
4Assembly containing the State Board's evaluation of the results
5of the pilot project and legislative recommendations on whether
6to continue, expand, or make changes to the pilot project.
7    (i) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to
8implement this Section.
 
9    (105 ILCS 5/3-11)  (from Ch. 122, par. 3-11)
10    Sec. 3-11. Institutes or inservice training workshops. In
11counties of less than 2,000,000 inhabitants, the regional
12superintendent may arrange for or conduct district, regional,
13or county institutes, or equivalent professional educational
14experiences, not more than 4 days annually. Of those 4 days, 2
15days may be used as a teacher's and educational support
16personnel workshop, when approved by the regional
17superintendent, up to 2 days may be used for conducting
18parent-teacher conferences, or up to 2 days may be utilized as
19parental institute days as provided in Section 10-22.18d.
20Educational support personnel may be exempt from a workshop if
21the workshop is not relevant to the work they do. A school
22district may use one of its 4 institute days on the last day of
23the school term. "Institute" or "Professional educational
24experiences" means any educational gathering, demonstration of
25methods of instruction, visitation of schools or other

 

 

HB4084- 5 -LRB097 18037 NHT 63260 b

1institutions or facilities, sexual abuse and sexual assault
2awareness seminar, or training in First Aid (which may include
3cardiopulmonary resuscitation or defibrillator training) held
4or approved by the regional superintendent and declared by him
5to be an institute day, or parent-teacher conferences. With the
6concurrence of the State Superintendent of Education, he or she
7may employ such assistance as is necessary to conduct the
8institute. Two or more adjoining counties may jointly hold an
9institute. Institute instruction shall be free to holders of
10certificates good in the county or counties holding the
11institute, and to those who have paid an examination fee and
12failed to receive a certificate.
13    In counties of 2,000,000 or more inhabitants, the regional
14superintendent may arrange for or conduct district, regional,
15or county inservice training workshops, or equivalent
16professional educational experiences, not more than 4 days
17annually. Of those 4 days, 2 days may be used as a teacher's
18and educational support personnel workshop, when approved by
19the regional superintendent, up to 2 days may be used for
20conducting parent-teacher conferences, or up to 2 days may be
21utilized as parental institute days as provided in Section
2210-22.18d. Educational support personnel may be exempt from a
23workshop if the workshop is not relevant to the work they do. A
24school district may use one of those 4 days on the last day of
25the school term. "Inservice Training Workshops" or
26"Professional educational experiences" means any educational

 

 

HB4084- 6 -LRB097 18037 NHT 63260 b

1gathering, demonstration of methods of instruction, visitation
2of schools or other institutions or facilities, sexual abuse
3and sexual assault awareness seminar, or training in First Aid
4(which may include cardiopulmonary resuscitation or
5defibrillator training) held or approved by the regional
6superintendent and declared by him to be an inservice training
7workshop, or parent-teacher conferences. With the concurrence
8of the State Superintendent of Education, he may employ such
9assistance as is necessary to conduct the inservice training
10workshop. With the approval of the regional superintendent, 2
11or more adjoining districts may jointly hold an inservice
12training workshop. In addition, with the approval of the
13regional superintendent, one district may conduct its own
14inservice training workshop with subject matter consultants
15requested from the county, State or any State institution of
16higher learning.
17    Such teachers institutes as referred to in this Section may
18be held on consecutive or separate days at the option of the
19regional superintendent having jurisdiction thereof.
20    Whenever reference is made in this Act to "teachers
21institute", it shall be construed to include the inservice
22training workshops or equivalent professional educational
23experiences provided for in this Section.
24    Any institute advisory committee existing on April 1, 1995,
25is dissolved and the duties and responsibilities of the
26institute advisory committee are assumed by the regional office

 

 

HB4084- 7 -LRB097 18037 NHT 63260 b

1of education advisory board.
2    Districts providing inservice training programs shall
3constitute inservice committees, 1/2 of which shall be
4teachers, 1/4 school service personnel and 1/4 administrators
5to establish program content and schedules.
6    The teachers institutes shall include teacher training
7committed to (i) peer counseling programs and other
8anti-violence and conflict resolution programs, including
9without limitation programs for preventing at risk students
10from committing violent acts, and (ii) educator ethics and
11teacher-student conduct.
12    Beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, the teachers
13institutes shall include instruction on prevalent student
14chronic health conditions.
15    Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, the teachers
16institutes may include instruction on the indicators of
17dyslexia, which instruction must be provided by a dyslexia
18specialist. "Dyslexia", for the purposes of this paragraph,
19means a specific learning disorder that is neurological in
20origin and that is characterized by unexpected difficulties
21with accurate or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling
22and decoding abilities not consistent with the person's
23intelligence, motivation, and sensory capabilities, which
24difficulties typically result from a deficit in the
25phonological component of language. "Dyslexia specialist", for
26the purposes of this paragraph, means a person who is trained

 

 

HB4084- 8 -LRB097 18037 NHT 63260 b

1and certified in a multisensory structured language program
2that meets standards from a recognized organization that
3specializes in issues surrounding dyslexia or standards
4adopted by rule of the State Board of Education. Persons so
5certified may provide training for teachers of
6pre-kindergarten through grade 4 on the indicators of dyslexia
7and the types of instruction that children with dyslexia need
8to learn, read, write, and spell.
9(Source: P.A. 96-431, eff. 8-13-09; 97-525, eff. 1-1-12.)
 
10    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11becoming law.